Nutritionist These are the seven biggest nutritional myths!

Nutrition expert cleans up with frequent nutritional myths

Can you eat as much fruit as you want? Does eating make you fat in the evening faster? Are obese people responsible for their weight? There are many myths and claims about proper nutrition. The project "Understanding obesity" at the University of Leipzig deals with such questions and would like to find the best possible answer to them. The nutrition expert and head of the project Professor dr. Matthias Blüher reports on the seven most common nutritional myths.

Professor Blüher is Head of the Adiposity Outpatient Clinic for Adults at the Integrated Research and Treatment Center for Obesity Diseases of the Leipzig University Medical Center. He acknowledges in a press release on the project "Understanding obesity" with the most common myths, which are repeatedly served on the subject of nutrition.

On the subject of nutrition is much reported and claimed. A nutrition expert explains the most common myths. (Image: SENTELLO / fotolia.com)

Do we need less calories in summer than in winter??

Many people think that our body needs less calories in summer than in winter, because it uses less energy. "That's not true," explains the nutrition expert. The body generally consumes more energy in both extreme heat and cold conditions. Both the freezing and the sweating energy consumption is increased.

In the summer it is easier to take off than in winter

"It is unlikely that you have different chances to lose weight in summer or winter," explains Professor Blüher. In fact, many people seem to be more willing in the summer to eat lighter and lower calorie meals. In contrast, many people in the winter would eat more sumptuous meals and rather put on the classic winter bacon. This is the only difference, according to the expert.

Can you eat as much fruit as you want??

A common claim in terms of nutrition is that fruit is always healthy and you can eat as much as you want from it. "Unfortunately, that's not quite true," says Dr. Bloomer. In the case of fruit too, the dose determines the poison. "Fruits can also contain a lot of calories and carbohydrates," explains the nutrition specialist. For example, research has shown that fruit fructose can make a significant contribution to the development of fatty liver disease.

Makes you eat faster in the evening?

Again and again it is reported that food thickens in the evening faster than at other times of day. Is that correct? "That's true and it's not true," says the professor. Here it depends on how much dinner comes on the table. In theory, it is believed that calories are not consumed as effectively in the evening as you soon go to bed after eating. Ultimately, however, there is no proof of what time of day calories begin faster. At the bottom line, it only counts the total amount taken over the entire day.

Who refrains from supper decreases

Again, of course, the total amount of the day counts. Like Professor Matthias Blüher, however, reports that many people find it easier to lose weight when they lose weight. Scientific research has shown that people who regularly eat breakfast have a greater chance of losing weight.

Help Light Products lose weight?

Even with this myth there is a "no" from the expert. "In light products, sugar is often replaced by sugar substitutes," says Blüher. This often results in an increased appetite as the sugar substitutes act on the intestinal bacteria. The increased appetite prevents then in many cases, the decrease or at least complicate it.

Are fat itself to blame for their weight?

The professor clearly answers this question with a "no". Obesity is a disease in which many factors play a role. "We know today, for example, that genetic factors play a major role in the development of overweight and obesity," says the specialist. Hormonal aspects and the social environment are also involved in the development of obesity. These factors could not be actively controlled or influenced by those affected. The World Health Organization WHO also defines obesity as a recognized disease.

Who does sports and eats less, always decreases

The most common advice to overweight is probably, you just have to eat less and do more sports, then you get the overweight under control. "Theoretically, that's right," says Blüher. However, concepts of demeanor that only focus on eating less and moving more often fail in the long term. The reasons for this are not yet clear. However, it is very likely that our body tends to defend a once achieved weight.

The famous yo-yo effect brings back the bacon

According to the expert, various mechanisms that cause our body to return again and again to its maximum weight are interwoven here. "These factors include, for example, the intake of calories from the diet and the regulation of basal metabolism, appetite and satiety," sums up the professor. We also have no conscious control over these factors.

The mechanisms behind the increase in weight are known

Again, this claim is a myth. "We are still trying to fully understand the causes of obesity for the individual and on a social level," explains Blüher. Only in a few individual cases can science produce clear connections so far. As an example, the professor mentions a genetic defect that increases the risk of obesity.

Understand obesity

The project "Understanding obesity" should shed more light on the nutritional myths. It pursues an interdisciplinary approach that combines medicine with social sciences and humanities. "The causes and consequences of obesity are not a purely medical topic, but embedded in our culture and society," the nutrition experts write about their project. Effective prevention and treatment strategies should therefore also be developed and considered in this context. (Vb)